Object numberM1994/006
DescriptionArmband from the Danish Resistance movement, distributed at end of war so that those in the resistance could be easily identified.
This style of armband was issued by the Danish Freedom Council on May 4 and 5, 1945, the final days of the German occupation of Denmark. The armbands were intended to turn the underground fighters, who, by the Geneva Convention, could be considered guerrillas and executed on the spot by the Germans, into a legitimate army, covered by different rules upon capture.
Germany occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940, but during the early years, permitted the Danish government to control domestic affairs. The resistance movement grew increasingly active; on 29 August 1943, the Germans declared martial law. In September, news leaked of the German decision to deport all Jewish residents. The resistance organized a rescue operation that ferried over 7,000 Jews to safety in Sweden in one month.
The item was donated by Brian Olesen who was recruited by the resistance as a scout around 1943, when he was 18 years old.
Reference USHMM website http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn42499
This style of armband was issued by the Danish Freedom Council on May 4 and 5, 1945, the final days of the German occupation of Denmark. The armbands were intended to turn the underground fighters, who, by the Geneva Convention, could be considered guerrillas and executed on the spot by the Germans, into a legitimate army, covered by different rules upon capture.
Germany occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940, but during the early years, permitted the Danish government to control domestic affairs. The resistance movement grew increasingly active; on 29 August 1943, the Germans declared martial law. In September, news leaked of the German decision to deport all Jewish residents. The resistance organized a rescue operation that ferried over 7,000 Jews to safety in Sweden in one month.
The item was donated by Brian Olesen who was recruited by the resistance as a scout around 1943, when he was 18 years old.
Reference USHMM website http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn42499
Subjectresistance, guerrillas, partisans
Object namearmbands
Dimensions
- height: 145.00 mm
circumference: 428.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mr. Brian Olesen